Wednesday, June 8, 2016

New Fangled Stakes

My Camper Mom and I have had a love-hate relationship with tent stakes. When we first started camping together, we used the yellow, plastic pegs that came with our awning . . . but only once! It seemed that with each Easy-Up, PahaQue, Thermarest, side tent, or screen room, came stakes that were a different size, color, and material.

It didn't take Momma Sharon long to visit the camping section in Walmart and to hit Camping World in Statesville in search of something better. For years we have used the Coleman tent stakes, but we have left lots behind in campgrounds from Ohio to Florida because when it came time to bug out, we couldn't pull them out of the ground. We often had to get Gid or Geo or Rob to yank them out of the ground for us!

Those that didn't get left behind, have broken and missing plastic pieces. Aunt Becky thought that a different kind of hammer might help. We sometimes had trouble whopping the stake hard enough with the rubber mallet to get it to go into the ground. Then when it came time to pull it up, the hook on the bottom of the handle stretched, so it was useless. We changed from the original rubber mallet to a a regular hammer and ultimately a specialized tent hammer with a single claw that we found at Cabelas.

Cousin Rob gave us a couple of stakes that he uses that have chain links on them. It's easy to pull those out of the ground when you snag the link with the hammer end. But I needed more than two.

While looking at Coleman shelters on Amazon, the Mom spied the perfect tent stake!! Knowing that they were what she's been needing all these years, she ordered four packs of four. Yesterday they were delivered at the front door. Heavy duty, high strength steel, 8" long, "able to be driven through asphalt", large head, hook that keeps it from being driven down into the ground, and a hole in the head for grabbing it and pulling it out. EUREKA!!

We will keep a few of the old ones, but these 16 new ones will get packed for my next big trip in July! I'm feeling the itch to hit the road again before then, so stay tuned, there might be a spur-of-the-moment trip happening soon. Until then, always remember . . .

2 comments:

At Burning Man any store bought stake is useless in the tempramental playa lake bed. They are too short and wind vibration can turn the 'soil' into powder in a heartbeat poping the stakes out & leaving you to chase your tent or tarp in the 40+mph winds that are common there. The stake of choice is 2'x3/8" diameter rebar that you pound in with a huge metal hammer. It will hold anything. You pound them a foot or more into the playa and put a bright tennis ball on the protruding part so no-one impales themselves on them. The problem then is how to remove them. The answer is to bring a cheap (yay Harbor Freight!) pair of locking pliers (vise grips). Attach the locking grip to the stake and turn it like a screw. 3-4 turns and you can lift any stake or rebar out of nearly any surface with one finger. No more sore back pulling our stakes for me!! I never camp without them!

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My name is SplashT@B. I am a 2007 T@B TQ L-16. Translated, that means I am a teardrop trailer called a T@B. My Camper Mom named me "SplashT@B" because it looks like someone splashed buckets of paint on me! I have a queen-sized bed and L-shaped kitchen. From the front of my hitch back to my license plate, I am 16 feet long. I love hitting the road with my Momma Sharon and I hope you'll drop by from time to time to hear my Stories.